Olaf's health status (cussing follows)

On May 2nd, Olaf went to the ER via ambulance with severe shoulder pain. He was driving in his car when all of a sudden he got this twinge in his shoulder kind of like when you sleep wrong and you pinch a nerve. The twinge continued to get worse and worse, until he had to pull over and call an ambulance. When I met the ambulance they were working on Olaf. Thinking it was a heart attack, they hooked him up to the EKG all the while Olaf was screaming and crying in pain. His feet were shaking and he was literally screaming. I had never seen him like that before and I felt helpless. I was there to answer the EMT's questions and give Olaf's vital statistics. They decided to take him to the Fayetteville hospital, so I drove the van there. When I arrived at the hospital, Olaf was lying all by himself in a room screaming, sweating, frothing at the mouth. It took about 20 minutes before the doctor saw him and told the nurse to give him some Dilaudid to relieve the pain. While the first dose took the edge off, it only took the pain level from a 10 down to an 8. At the ER they did a CT Scan and a chest X-Ray to make sure he did not have an aortic dissection, and after those came back clear they basically said go home and good luck. The next day, May 3rd, I took Olaf to our regular primary care doctor who ordered a bunch of blood work (all clear) and an MRI of his neck. I took Olaf to his MRI and lo and behold we were told that he has a herniated disc in his neck that is causing his pain. Hallelujah! We thought we had an answer. However, luck was not on our side (or God...however you want to look at that.) I took Olaf to a spine doctor, Dr. Haid, yesterday at Piedmont and he told Olaf he does NOT have a herniated disc and has no idea what is causing the pain. So, Olaf is scheduled for a CT/myelogram, X-Rays and and EMG this Friday up at Piedmont in Atlanta and we are back at square one. Square fucking one. Do you know how frustrating this is for him? He has had joint pain, muscle pain, muscle twitching, severe fatigue, and several other symptoms for months. He has been to a neurologist who asked him if it was "in his head." What the fuck? Are you kidding me?? He has been out of work since May 2nd because he cannot drive. The minute he tries to drive his pain is immediate and crippling. This is giving Camille a lot of driving practice though. She runs him to appointments that are local and errands that need to be done. He is depressed, despondent, and cries. He is frustrated as you can imagine. He is in the process of filling out paperwork for the VA because all of these symptoms are linked to Gulf War Illness. And that about sums it up for now.

On another, happier note. My Gracie turned ten years old yesterday. She loves her face painting kit more than the candy vending machine that she just had to have! Grace is full of vim and vigor and will go far in life with her determination if she puts it to good use. :) Grace-if you read this one day-I love you more than you will ever know.